


Light In The Hallway

by jordahparrish



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, F/M, Feminist Themes, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Sexual Equality, mute alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7030417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jordahparrish/pseuds/jordahparrish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has a goal that they want to achieve.<br/>Isabelle Lightwood's goal is start a new life in a new town, somewhere away from her family - even if it means having to leave her brother with their parents. When she makes it to Brooklyn she meets people with bigger goals than her owns and joins in with their journey to make the world equal. <br/>Meanwhile Isabelle's brother, Alec, struggles without his sister but he makes his own goal - not to need Izzy around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Man's World

**Author's Note:**

> The idea came to me thanks to the production that was recently devised and performed by our second years at college. So of course there's also some characters based on some of them, again...

Isabelle glanced back at her house, she felt awful, she did, but she had to get away from her family – even her brother, as much as she didn't want to leave him. She let out a sigh and gripped onto her backpack before rushing down the path, if she hesitated for too long she'd head back to the house and stay living in the house where there was too much unneeded drama, at least making this move she could find something new to be a part of. She didn't realise how long she would travel, but it ended up being a few days later when she ended up in Brooklyn. She jumped down from the bus's step and glanced around, the first few people she saw seemed to be miserable office workers all heading towards a building that had the word 'Institute' above the long line of glass doors. They didn't seem too happy as Izzy almost got in their way, several men grunted as they turned to pass her. She quickly rushed through the crowds and almost tripped over her own feet as she tried to avoid the businessmen, she managed to sit down on a bench next to a girl with red hair tied into a braid. Izzy glanced over and saw the girl sketching out all the businessmen and women walking towards the building. The girl looked up suddenly, as if sensing Izzy was looking at her work.   
“It's a study on the emotions the workers of the Institute have, I sit here now and then, and the longer you pay attention the more you notice.”  
Izzy looked into the girls eyes, “notice what?”  
“How the women in the Institute are treated, the men seem miserable and stressed, but the women seem emotionally torn apart.”  
“Oh,” Izzy nodded slowly.  
“The boss is my dad, but he's an asshole.”  
“Wow,” Izzy pressed her lips together.  
“I'm doing a study on how the Institute treats it's workers, men and women, of course my dad comes home and states how he gave some guy a promotion, that same guy being the one I always see turning up late to work and always leaving early. However, Kira Moreton,” she pointed over to a woman who was carrying a pile of paper, her hair was held up in a messy bun and she looked exhausted, “she works so hard, she leaves hours after everyone else and is still yet to get a promotion, I asked my father about it and he said 'she has two children to look after, she doesn't have time for a promotion', and surely having two children means nothing against the promotion – she'd be working the same time she does but she'd get a higher pay. The guy who did get a promotion is some random guy called Henry Presten, he's a single father to three children, but of course he has the time for a promotion.”  
“That sounds... ridiculous.”  
“Of course, and he has no idea that I'm planning a protest,” the girl grinned, “wow I just unloaded all that information on you and you don't even know my name, I'm Clary Fray.”  
“Well hi Clary, I'm Isabelle Lightwood,” Izzy shook the girl's hand.  
“I haven't seen you around here before, and well it looks like you're travelling, huh?”  
“Well I just kind of... Ran away from home.”  
“Was there a particular reason?”  
“My parents are always arguing, actually barely ever home, barely caring for my brother and I... That was the only reason I stayed as long as I did, for my brother. Maybe I shouldn't have left.”  
“But you've done it now,” Clary shrugged, “how old is your brother?”  
“Twentyone.”  
“Oh, honestly I thought he was like... eight, the way you spoke about him. It seems like you were taking care of him.”  
“I was,” Izzy sighed, “I'm nineteen but I've been looking after him for years... God, it's so awful now I think about it. I left him alone.”  
“I'm sure he'll be okay, what twentone year old boy can't take care of himself?”  
“My brother is... He has selective mutism, among other things...”  
“Oh, oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound so-”  
“It's fine, I understand,” Izzy waved her hand to Clary.  
“So selective mutism, does that mean he only talks to certain people?”  
“It can mean that, but Alec doesn't talk to anyone,” Izzy let out a sigh, “sometimes I hear him speak quietly in his sleep, it reminds me of how he used to sound.”  
“How long has he been this way, stopped talking, I mean?”  
“He stopped talking a few years ago.”  
“Wow.”  
“I know.”

***

Alec stared into his sister's now empty room, her belongings were mostly still there but she wasn't. He didn't know where she had gone, but she hadn't been around for several days, the last time he had seen her she placed a kiss on his forehead, of course she must have thought of leaving. He leaned up against the door frame of her room, why would she leave when he'd need her most. He turned and made his way across the hallway to a smaller room where the piano was kept, Izzy had taught him after she had taken her piano lessons – Alec had tried to take the same lessons but the piano tutor found it difficult teaching a young teenage boy with a mental illness, his parents only reacted with 'oh well, teach our non-mentally ill child instead'. Still, Izzy had been there to help him, she taught him and he found the piano to be a distraction for him, it was now part of his routine, he'd play the piano most days – especially when he didn't have Izzy around.   
He sat on the piano stool and tried to remember a song his sister had taught him, but when one of the higher keys had been played he glanced up and saw Poppy, the girl who used to be his best friend, she showed up now and then but nobody in his family acknowledged her existence. Even when he did speak to them, when he'd speak about Poppy they wouldn't know who he was talking about, but perhaps they just didn't pay much attention to him or his friends.  
“Why did Izzy leave?” Poppy asked in an almost childish tone, Alec gave a quick shrug and shook his head slightly as he continued to play the piano, “do you think it was because of you?” Alec's fingers slammed down on the keys making a distorted sound, he glared up at Poppy and shook his head again, then focused back to the keys, “or maybe because your parents want nothing to do with the both of you, maybe she did the smart thing.”  
Alec closed his eyes and waited until he heard a knock on the door, but he kept his eyes closed, “Alec?” It was his father's voice, but still he kept his eyes closed, “Alec can you hear me?”   
“Perhaps he's decided to be deaf as well now,” his mother scoffed, “Robert we don't have the time for this, let's just go.”  
“Maryse.”  
“We need to leave, he'll be fine by himself.”  
Alec opened his eyes again a moment later, and they had already gone. He was starting to wonder if they only existed to him like Poppy did. He began playing the song again and then he heard the higher keys being pressed again, he threw his hand out but Poppy seemed to jump out of the way and giggle.  
“Alec don't be mean, I'm the only one you have left!”

***

Clary was still talking to Izzy when she noticed Simon Lewis approaching her, she smiled up at him, “hey Simon, why so miserable?”  
“That damn band,” Simon growled, he looked as though he was going to throw his guitar onto the ground, “they kicked me out, and do you know why? Because... Because they found another guitarist-”  
“That's life, isn't it?” Izzy cocked her head to the side.  
“No, the new guitarist isn't even that good, they just took her in because they all want to screw her, which is infuriating. I'm not mad that she's a girl, don't get me wrong, I'm mad because that's the only reason they want her.”  
Clary's smile began to grow, “this is perfect.”  
“Is it?” Simon mumbled and sat on the bench the other side of Clary, “because now I have no band.”  
“It adds more to my research! Women in this society are treated separately to men, they'll get positives in the modern industry, but only because they're a sex symbol – right?”  
“Right,” Izzy nodded, “like I was once offered free drinks by this creepy bartender, because he wanted to bang me. Yes, I was offered free drinks but I was looked at as though I was some sort of sex symbol. I'm not even old enough to drink – I was there with my parents!”  
“This is exactly the kind of thing I need,” Clary was grinning, “whether it's viewed as a positive or not, it's still treating the sexes unequally.”  
Simon nodded and then looked at Clary's sketchpad, “is that your newest take on the monstrous industry of the Institute?”  
“It is.”  
“You're still doing that protest, right?”  
“Of course.”  
“You need to keep me updated,” Simon stood up as though to leave again, then turned to the two girls and smiled at Isabelle, “I'm Simon by the way.”  
“I gathered,” Izzy laughed, “I'm Izzy.”  
“Cool, well I'll see you girls around, right?”  
“If Izzy stays in Brooklyn,” Clary shrugged.  
“And who knows if I will or not,” Izzy smiled, “but I hope to see you again, Simon.”  
Simon waved a hand to Izzy and then rushed away.   
“You need to stay in Brooklyn,” Clary grinned and placed a hand on Izzy's shoulder, “you can join in the equal rights protest, whenever we have it, it's looking to be in June, or July.”  
“I suppose, but I'd have to find a place to stay.”  
“Stay with me and my mom!”  
“You just met me...”  
“And you just met me, come on Izzy, I think we could get along, perhaps even be best friends.”  
Izzy let a small smile grow on her face, “I mean... if you're sure.”  
“I'm sure.”


	2. Can I Help To Cheer You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec struggles without Izzy. Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Izzy is making new friends and managing to hold herself together.

“So what will you do?”  
Alec glanced over to Poppy, the girl with red hair was sat on his bed, wearing clothes similar to his own and swinging her legs back and forth.  
“What will you do without your mother? Without your father? Without Izzy?”  
Alec glared at her and turned to look at the family photo that was placed on his desk, he ran his fingers across the frame and then set it so it was face down. He turned back to Poppy and gave her a look of expectation, the girl crossed her legs and grinned at him.  
“But you don't need them Alec, we can leave here together.”  
Alec paused for a moment and looked through his open door, the room across from his belonged to his younger brother, he took a step toward his doorway.   
“Max will be fine, your parents adore him far more than you, he is mentally perfect after all.”  
Alec spun around and glared angrily at Poppy, the girl only shrugged and let out a laugh.  
“What? You know it's true.”  
Alec's focus turned to the floor but Poppy lifted his chin, he hadn't realised she had even moved from the bed until she was touching him.  
“Alec don't get pouty, you still have me! We're best friends, Alec and Poppy – never backing down.”  
Alec let out what was almost a laugh, he moved over to his bed and sat down, gripping the blanket in both of his hands, Poppy rushed over and crouched in front of him.  
“Want me to sing to you?”   
Alec gave a small nod and listened as Poppy sang gently to him, it was something like a lullaby but Alec wouldn't be able to sleep to it – something about Poppy's voice seemed almost distorted throughout it but still he closed his eyes as though he could sleep. Suddenly Poppy stopped, Alec opened his eyes.  
“We could leave, just like Izzy did.”

***

“The men who say 'feminists don't want equality they want women to rule' are just stupid,” Lydia sighed as she played with the glass in her hand, she glanced across to Clary with eyes full of wonder, “they don't realise that some people who call themselves feminists don't understand wht the term actually is, feminism is for equality, it's the feminazis who think it's to belittle men and make women powerful. Women don't need to be powerful, like female characters for example – yes strong women are great, but interesting women, women with a backstory that doesn't revolve around a man, weak women... All types of women are wonderful, all male characters can be too. You know what I want to see? An evil female character who's evil for the sake of it, not because her father abused her, or because a man wronged her... Just because she wants to evil as hell!”  
“You have strong opinions, don't you Lydia?” Jocelyn hummed playfully as she set down a plate of cookies between the two girls.  
“Of course Ms. Fray, but to most men my opinions mean nothing.”  
“Most men, meaning my father, of course,” Clary responded in a disgusted tone.  
“There's a reason I didn't marry him,” Jocelyn shrugged, “and your brother is no good either, brought up by a man like Valentine will only turn him into a man like Valentine...”  
“You have a brother?” Izzy asked as she made her way over to the seating.  
“Yeah,” Clary nodded and then grabbed a cookie from the plate, she looked up and saw Lydia cock her head to the side as Izzy approached, “oh Lydia, this is Izzy, she's new to Brooklyn and living with mom and I.”  
“We just met like... yesterday,” Izzy shrugged and let out a laugh.  
“Clary does move fast with her friendships,” Lydia nodded, “first day she met me she cried about the fact I'd be away for a week.”  
“I didn't cry.”  
“You got emotional.”  
“Little bit,” Clary shrugged, “you were very nice to me when we first met.”  
“And I still am,” Lydia grinned, “Simon said she asked him to marry her on their first day of meeting, they were like eight.”  
“Eight, exactly!”  
“And when you met Robbie-”  
“I didn't actually like him to begin with,” Clary scoffed, “I thought he was going to hurt you at some point, turn out to be some bitchy guy, you know? But then I realised, I shouldn't make assumptions.”  
“He took me to Disneyland on our one month anniversary,” Lydia quickly snatched a cookie from the plate, “that was mostly because he was meant to take his boyfriend for their first year anniversary but his boyfriend had broken up with him like a month before he asked me out. But still!”  
“Wow,” Izzy let out a chuckle, “sounds like you have a good man there.”  
“I know right,” Lydia nodded, “he's in Ireland right now though so... If he was in Brooklyn I'd take you to meet him.”  
“If he was in Brooklyn, he'd be here with Lydia,” Clary shrugged, “I guess at least they're cute together.”  
Lydia shrugged, “well thanks chick, Robbie still wants to try help you out in the romance department.”  
“He tried to set me up with George,” Clary let out a snorting laugh, “before Paris ended up getting him and Chloe to hook up at that party.”  
“You know that's because Robbie had said 'I'm trying to hook George and Clary up' but Paris thought he said George and Chloe, right?”  
“Really? Oh my God, that's hilarious.”  
Izzy watched as the blonde and redhead began laughing together, she let herself chuckle slightly about it but she was also slightly worried about it. Izzy had known Clary for a day and already she felt a tinge of jealousy thinking about Clary being set up with a boy. She focused on Clary as the girl was grinning and talking to Lydia, the girl was eager to stand up for what she believed in – that was obvious. Clary had began talking about the lack of equality in the Institute, Izzy began to listen easily to Clary's plans of protest.   
“I think we can get so many people involved, I've been talking to Jace, remember him?”  
“Yeah, didn't he move away?”  
“He did but he said he'd come back to join in the protest, he's been meaning to visit us all again anyway.”  
“That's awesome.”  
“Who's Jace?” Izzy stared at Clary, waiting for an answer.  
“Clary's former flame,” Lydia winked to the redhead and Clary shook her head as she turned to Izzy.  
“We didn't actually date, but everyone thought we did.”  
“Ah,” Izzy nodded, “and he's joining the protest?”  
“Yes.”  
“When will he be here?” Lydia leaned forward.   
“Some day soon, I don't know exactly, but soon.”

***

“You want the usual?” Jace leaned forward from the coffee truck and looked down at the boy who was outside the truck, the boy nodded and pressed his lips together before pointing to a cookie, “and a double chocolate cookie? Good choice,” Jace nodded and placed the cookie into a bag, he turned around and began making the drink, then he glanced back over his shoulder, “so your sister, she's not with you?”  
The boy shook his head as he took the cookie from the counter.  
“You're feeling independent today, huh?”  
The boy only shrugged.  
“No? Doesn't your sister come everywhere with you?” He waited for the boy to respond, this time with just a shake of the head and another shrug, “is she still around?” Then another shake of the head, “she left?” A nod, “oh man...” Jace placed the cup on the counter and leaned forward again, “tell you what – that's on the house, no payment, I understand it must be hard without your sister around.”  
The boy gave Jace a bright smile and stayed still not wanting to move, Jace let out a small chuckle.  
“You know, I don't even know your name.”  
The boy placed the cup and cookie back onto the counter and snatched a napkin, then waved his hand as though asking Jace for a pen, Jace understood immediately and handed a pen over to the boy. He watched him scribble onto the napkin before he grabbed his coffee and cookie, he gave another smile and then quickly rushed away. Jace looked down at the scruffy handwriting on the napkin.   
Alec Lightwood. 

***

Alec walked back to his house slowly, glancing at his phone as he did, his many texts to Isabelle had gone unread, unnoticed. Perhaps Poppy was right, Izzy didn't want to care for him anymore. He pushed his phone into his pocket as he approached the front door of his parent's house, he didn't want it to be his anymore, perhaps he should take a page from Izzy's book and leave.   
“Do you really think blondie is your type? He's cute but... I mean really?”  
Alec gave a grunt in response and continued walking.  
“Can I have some of that cookie?” Poppy reached out to the bag in Alec's hand but Alec pulled it away, “no? See this is why people don't like you Alec, you don't share. Then again, you don't even speak. Oh well,” Poppy made a 'pfft' sound and then looked around, she swung her arms and then stepped in front of Alec making him stop suddenly, “let's run away Alec, like Izzy, let's just leave! Flee the city, flee the state, flee the country! We can do it Alec, we can do anything.”  
Alec shook his head quickly.  
“Oh come on, we can't just stay here forever, your parents don't want you around, Max doesn't even remember the time when you spoke.”  
Alec did his best to shut Poppy out for the time being, he stepped around her and continued walking quickly, Poppy skipped to his side and sang that song she had sang to him beforehand, similarly distorted as it had been the other night. Alec knew he had heard the lullaby song itself somewhere, perhaps that was why Poppy sang it so often, but he remembered it being far more beautiful and calming. He still had no idea why Poppy's voice seemed to haunt him like that, she could turn from child to nightmare within seconds and it actually terrified Alec when her voice transitioned in such a way.


	3. I've Got My Eyes On The Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It could be fateful that Alec bumped into Jace so soon, perhaps it was, but while Alec joins Jace for a new adventure Simon sets out to start a new band.

“Dropped by your band, sucks,” Raphael hummed as he watched Simon, “but dude, your band wasn't that great anyway – you were the highlight of the performances.”  
“Well thanks, Raph.”  
“I mean it, why don't you start a new band, I can totally get you performance slots here!”  
“I don't think I have any musically talen-” Simon froze suddenly, “I might be able to do something actually...”  
“Sort something out and I'll sort something out for you,” Raphael gave Simon a quick wink before heading back behind the bar, Simon gathered his belongings and ran out of the building. Simon was grateful that Raphael existed, he was grateful that Raphael was a genius and was always quick to come up with ideas. After a minute or so of walking Simon came to a stop at Clary's regular bench, seeing Clary and Izzy both sitting watching the Institute building again, he grinned down at Clary and then made a proud announcement.  
“I'm going to start a new band!”  
“You are?” Clary responded with a gasp, “cool, who's in it?”  
“I don't know yet, but I was thinking, so hear me out, I get a bunch of musicians together, but we don't have a solid singer – like we have other people as singers and we know many talented singers! But I just need to find musicians...”  
“Simon, George plays drums, so does Paris,” Clary let out a laugh, “ask one of them.”  
“Alright, do we know any bassists?”  
“Paris' boyfriend,” Clary nodded.  
“Of course! Why didn't I think of Tom?”  
“Because I'm smarter than you,” Clary rolled her eyes and tutted, “now get out the way, the workers are about to leave for lunch.”  
“Still studying the emotions?”  
“Of course,” Clary nodded eagerly, “sit down Simon, we'll discuss your new band later!”

***

Jace had thrown his last bag into the backseat of his car and began humming to himself as he sat in the driver's seat, it would be a lonely drive but he had to get to Brooklyn to see his friends again, he was just glad that Hodge understood and would take care of the coffee truck for a while. Jace began his drive and observed the dark streets carefully, he figured if he left at this time the roads would be clear so his drive would be quicker. It wasn't too long into his drive when he saw a familiar figure walking down the side of the road with two bags in his hands and a rucksack on his back. Jace pulled up alongside the boy and leaned over as he opened the window of the passenger side.  
“Alec?”  
The boy turned suddenly, looking as though he wanted to drop his bags and run.  
“Hey buddy, don't tell me... Are you running away?”  
Alec shamefully nodded his head.  
“Well... I don't know if it's best for you to go alone, it's cold... And dark.”  
Alec then gave a shrug.  
“Tell you what, jump in, I'm heading to Brooklyn, stick with me and I'll make sure you're okay,” Jace waited for a response, he watched as Alec looked over his shoulder, then back again before nodding, “great,” Jace jumped out of the driver's side and ran to Alec's side, he opened the back door and gently took Alec's bags from him, “I'll just put these in the back, jump in,” he nodded to the passenger side and smiled as Alec opened the door timidly, “you know me Alec, I won't hurt you.”  
Alec gave Jace a small smile and then sat down in the passenger seat, Jace closed the back door and rushed back to his seat, smiling as he pulled his seatbelt on.  
“So, let the adventure begin, huh?”

***

“So let me get this right,” George held out a hand at Simon, “you want Tom and I to join you... and make a band... because your last band kicked you out? Because you were crap?”  
“Because they wanted to have sex with a girl,” Simon defended himself, he held his hands up and then glared at the two boys, “come on guys, give me a chance!”  
“We'll jam,” Tom shrugged, “and if it sounds good, we'll arrange something, if it sounds crap, nothing happens.”  
“Deal!”  
“So what if we made it sound crap on purpose?” George hummed, he leaned back in his seat.  
“Would you do that to me?” Simon let out a scoff of laughter.  
Tom and George looked at each other quickly and then back to Simon before both answering in unison, “yes.”  
“Wow,” Simon crossed his arms and then looked over to Paris who was tapping on the table and trying not to laugh, “well Paris, you can drum, can't you?”  
“Yeah but I wouldn't want to do it permanently in a band,” she shrugged, “I have no true passion for drumming.”  
Simon heard Tom make a groaning noise before Paris playfully hit his shoulder, then Simon looked at George, then to Tom, “guys, please?”  
“Give it a shot,” Paris looked over to Tom, “you guys could make some good sound, and Raphael did say he could get you gigs at the bar.”  
“Okay, we'll give it a go,” Tom began to nod, “but what about a singer?”  
“Well that's the next thing, I was thinking – instead of being a band with a solid singer, we switch singers all the time, so we can get Paris to sing sometimes, maybe you can sing too, and George can, then Paris can get on drums – we could get Chloe in, Robbie, Lydia, Clary.”  
“I guess that could be pretty good,” George agreed, “so basically we're more like a back up band.”  
“Well, I guess so... But we'll still be the band!”

***

Alec watched Jace with a small smile as the blond sang along to a song that Alec knew, he wanted to put a name on it but it sounded so different sang by Jace. Then he heard the distorted voice of Poppy singing the same song, he looked over his shoulder and saw Poppy singing along, of course, that's why he knew the song – but it sounded far more soothing coming from Jace. Alec focused back on the blond and smiled as Poppy's voice became quiet.  
Jace paused and looked over to Alec, “you like that song?” Alec nodded eagerly and Jace gave him a grin, “it's a new favourite of mine, Pentatonix are just... beautiful. It's amazing, what beautiful things can be created using just the human voice,” he noticed Alec turn away and then shook his head, “I didn't mean that to sound... You know... But it's amazing.”  
Alec nodded and waved his hand in a circle, asking Jace to continue the song, and so Jace did. Alec closed his eyes and for once he could hear the song without Poppy's distorted singing. 

***

“Jace is already on his way,” Clary squeaked as she ran over to Izzy and Lydia who were sat at the park, Izzy was listening to Lydia explain her relationship with Robbie. Clary fell down on the dry grass and grinned, “I'm so excited to see Jace again. He said he's got a friend with him as well, but he didn't tell me his name,” Clary shrugged, “new friends for us I guess.”  
“Damn, I won't be the newest friend,” Izzy pouted.  
“Sorry,” Clary pulled a face and then began to smile, “but you'll be my favourite new friend?”  
“How do you know?” Izzy twirled a strand of her hair around her finger and Clary gave her a wink.  
“I just do.”


	4. And The Blue Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jace and Alec arrive in Brooklyn and meet with Simon and some other friends.

“We're in Brooklyn,” Jace whispered as Alec stirred awake, “you'll get to meet my friends, sound good?” He watched Alec give a slow nod and then continued talking, “are you okay with joining in an equal rights protest?” Alec nodded again, “good, I'm sure Clary will love to have you there,” Alec cocked his head to the side and Jace let out a small chuckle, “Clary is my friend... We used to... Well we didn't date, but we used to flirt a lot. However things change, and people realise that they're actually gay,” he paused sensing the sudden look from Alec, “not me, I'm pansexual, but one day Clary actually turned to me and said 'this is awkward and I know we flirt a lot... but I don't think I like boys', doesn't stop us from being friends.”  
Alec went to open his mouth as though to speak but immediately stopped when he realised what he was about to do, he shook his head and smiled at Jace. The blond boy focused on the road, Alec twirled his thumbs and began to chew on his bottom lip as the ride went silent. Then Jace began to speak again.   
“So anyway, the protest... We're protesting against gender inequality in general, but it's aimed towards a business company, Institute – Clary's father is the boss there and... Well he's not that great of a guy.”  
“I can tell,” Alec heard Poppy scoff from the backseat, he rolled his eyes and turned to look out of the window, “do you think you'll actually make much difference being at the protest?” Alec felt her leaned forward and then her hand on his shoulder, he turned quickly and glared at her as she grinned.  
“Are you alright buddy?”   
Alec looked up to Jace suddenly and slowly nodded.  
“You sure?”  
“Of course he's not sure,” Poppy laughed, “he's not alright, everyone hates him why would he be alright.”  
Alec let out a pained grunting noise and hit the dashboard of the car, causing Jace to jump and slowly make the car come to a stop. Once he had pulled the car over to the side of the road he turned in his seat to Alec, “are you okay? I... I mean, well I actually heard you make a noise for a start. Then you hit my car – which by the way buddy, not cool,” he saw Alec's face drop, “but it's okay, I know you won't talk but... What if you text me, tell me what's up?”  
Alec shook his head, closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat.  
“Alright,” Jace sighed, “you just don't like communicating in general, huh?”  
Alec kept his eyes closed but shrugged his shoulders as an answer.   
“Good answer.”  
Alec tuned out of anything from there on, he thought back to when he was younger, when he did speak. He remembered the day that his parents took him to his first piano lesson.   
_He had been able to learn pretty quickly and the teacher seemed fine with him. Until he heard the keys being pressed menacingly, Alec had turned on the piano stool and yelled at Poppy to stop. Things like that had happened a few more times and eventually the teacher stopped ignoring it and told Alec that she had to speak to his parents. Alec listened as the adults stood outside the room._  
 _“I can't teach a student with mental health issues, it's just too difficult, you should have said about your son's health before booking the lessons.”_  
 _“We're paying you,” Alec heard his father's voice, “you'll teach our son even if he does have... Mental health issues.”_  
 _“I can't!”_  
 _“We've paid for the lessons already.”_  
 _“Tell you what,” Alec's mother suddenly began to speak, “how about, instead of tutoring our son, you teach our daughter instead, she's mentally healthy, mentally perfect, I promise.”_  
 _The tutor hesitated and then sighed, “fine, I'll teach your daughter, but not your son.”_  
 _Alec remembered how his parents explained to him that he couldn't continue the piano lessons, he remembered crying during the car ride home, all he had wanted to do was learn piano. He had actually stopped talking to Izzy for a week, that was the first time he stopped talking, but he began again after Izzy apologised to him non-stop. She had began to teach him what she had learnt. Alec remembered how when he'd play he'd barely think of Poppy, when Izzy was in the room and he was playing he never thought of Poppy – but when Izzy wasn't present, Poppy would appear and ruin Alec's playing by teasingly hitting the higher keys and laughing._  
“Hey buddy we're here now.”  
Alec opened his eyes, the car had been parked in a parking lot and Jace was grinning over to him.  
“I'm going to meet one of my friends, Simon, for coffee, you're welcome to join of course.”

***

Simon tapped the table as Clary waved goodbye to him and quickly rushed out of the coffee shop, she had wanted to stay to greet Jace again but she explained that she had to be somewhere else so she unfortunately wouldn't be able to greet him. Simon would have been sat by himself if it wasn't for Robbie and George showing up a few moments after Clary had left.  
“Fancy seeing you here,” George chuckled as he approached Simon's table, Robbie had waved but headed over to the counter to order his and George's drink.   
“Coincidence I guess,” Simon nodded, “I didn't realise Robbie was back from Ireland.”  
“He got back last night, and of course the first thing he wanted to do was grab coffee with me,” George gave a playful wink.  
“Anyone would think it was you two who were dating.”  
“I'm starting to believe it myself,” George nodded as he finally sat down, “so why are you here by yourself?”  
“Waiting for Jace, I was with Clary but she just left.”  
“Oh, Jace is coming back?”   
Simon nodded, he began to chuckle quietly, “he should be here soon if the traffic wasn't bad.”  
“Are we free to join you in the 'welcome back' party?”  
“Of course, unless you want your date with Robbie to be private.”  
“It's not a date,” Simon spun around as he heard Robbie speak, the boy was already holding two cups and was heading over to the table, Robbie slowly took a seat as he looked at George, “sorry babe, it's not you, it's me.”  
“Have you gone slightly Irish?” Simon raised an eyebrow.   
“It happens,” Robbie let out a small chuckle, “thanks for noticing.”  
“Does Lydia know you're back?”   
George gave Robbie an expectant look and Robbie glanced down at the table in shame, “not yet.”  
“Robbie,” Simon began to tut, “that's no way to treat Lydia!”  
“We're going to surprise her,” George waved a hand, “so don't spoil it.”  
“I won't, as long as you're promising me that you're not hiding from her.”  
“I'm not!”  
“Right, well you looked very guilty,” Simon crossed his arms.  
“Because I feel bad for not telling her,” Robbie hissed, “but look, George said you asked him to start a band and that made me think – what if I give Lydia a surprise performance! Bon Jovi, It's My Life, she loves that song.”  
“We could make a go of it,” Simon shrugged, his attention turned to the door as it opened. He recognised the blond hair immediately, then he saw a tall boy following the blond into the shop, “looks like Jace brought his new friend.”  
“Friend, or... 'friend',” Robbie asked suggestively.   
“Just friend,” George replied as he kicked Robbie under the table.  
Simon waved Jace over, the blond noticed him immediately and waved for the taller boy to follow him. They both approached the table and sat down.  
“Hey guys, I didn't expect to see Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee here,” Jace let out a small laugh as he looked between Robbie and George.  
“Who's Dum and who's Dee?”  
“You're Dum,” George whispered across the Robbie.  
“Hi,” Robbie seemed to ignore George's comment and held his hand out to the tall boy, “I'm Robbie, this is Simon and this is George... And you are...?”  
“This is Alec,” Jace answered, “he's uh... He's a mute.”  
“Oh,” Simon leaned forward, “is it the actual inability to talk, or are you selective mute?”  
Alec gave Simon a blank look, not knowing how to respond.  
“Wouldn't it be better to ask yes or no questions?” Robbie turned to Simon with a raised eyebrow.  
“Good thought,” Simon hummed, he looked back to Alec, “are you selective mute?”  
Alec nodded.  
“Do you only communicate through... like shaking your head?” George asked innocently. Alec replied with a shrug and then a slow nod.  
“Is there a reason you don't talk?” Robbie sounded curious as he leaned forwards towards Alec, it took a moment but eventually Alec gave a nod, Robbie also nodded, “huh, I mean I'd ask you about it but, one that would probably be rude to ask and two... Well you wouldn't really be able to answer, would you?”  
Alec shook his head.   
A moment of silence passed and then Simon began to speak again, “alright, well, Jace... Clary said she wanted to stay and say hi but she had to run off.”  
“Couldn't face the ex,” Robbie whispered before taking a sip of his coffee.  
“We didn't date,” Jace replied, “I'm going to go get Alec and I some coffee,” he stood up and looked down at Alec, “you want what you usually get from the truck?”  
Alec smiled up at Jace and nodded quite eagerly.  
Jace patted Alec's shoulders and then rushed over to the counter, Alec then looked back to the trio of boys. They seemed to be watching him curiously, he nervously held his hands together under the table. He stared down at the table top, waiting for the trio to start talking among themselves again, but when he looked up he realised that they were still looking at him. Robbie was about to say something but Simon quickly hit the boy's shoulder and pointed to the window of the coffee shop.  
“Lydia at twelve o'clock.”  
“Either you hide or forget about the surprise,” George continued.  
Robbie quickly ducked under the table, able to be hidden from view. Alec cocked his head to the side, Simon waved a hand excusing the behaviour.   
“Boys,” Lydia rushed over to the table and gave a small laugh, “I didn't expect to see you here.”  
“Didn't expect to see you either,” George managed not to laugh as he looked at Lydia.   
Alec watched the blonde glance down to the denim jacket that had been thrown over the back of Robbie's chair, she picked up the jacket curiously and looked at George, “isn't this Robbie's?”  
The boys didn't answer, but Alec quickly waved his hand to the girl and pointed to himself, hoping Lydia would believe it was hid – even though it was most likely too small to fit him.  
“Yours?”  
He nodded.  
“Oh, it just looked like my boyfriend's.”  
“Shocker,” George tutted sarcastically, “denim jacket looks identical to other denim jacket,” he shook his head and then gave Lydia a playful wink.  
“Alright, alright,” she handed the jacket to Alec as she spoke, “it's just that Robbie is probably the only boy I know who manages to pull off a denim jacket.”  
“I could totally pull off a denim jacket,” Simon pouted.  
“Of course,” Lydia said, but she looked to Alec and shook her head, “sorry, I'm Lydia by the way.”  
“This is Alex,” George pointed to Alec and received a quick glare from the taller boy.  
“Alec,” Simon corrected George quietly, Lydia didn't appear to hear him.  
Alec smiled up at Lydia and held out a hand as the other one held onto Robbie's jacket, Lydia shook his hand and smiled brightly at him.  
“You don't talk?”  
“He's a selective mute,” Simon informed Lydia easily, he cleared his throat and then stood up, “I just remembered something I have to tell Jace!”   
Simon rushed away from the table and made his way to Jace who was waiting for the drinks he had just ordered, “Lydia's here and Robbie's trying to surprise her about him coming home early, so right now he's hiding under the table, whatever you do, don't ruin his cover.”  
“He's definitely doing it to surprise her?”  
“Apparently.”  
“You know if he's not hiding for good intentions...”  
“We'll all make him pay for it,” Simon shrugged, “but he swears that it's not for bad intentions.”  
“Good.”

***

George watched cautiously as Lydia sat down in the seat Robbie had previously been sitting in, he managed to hook his leg around Robbie pulling his friend back from that area of the small table, it was a wonder that this was actually working.  
“So Lydia,” George leaned forward, “how's Clary's protest going?”  
“It's going great! Valentine is apparently making some public statement tomorrow, so the protest had moved forward, great timing I guess, considering Jace just arrived,” Lydia quickly glanced over to Jace, “it just sucks that Robbie isn't going to be here, I know how much he believes in our cause...”  
“He'll be there in spirit,” George bluffed, he glanced down, seeing Robbie crouching impatiently out of view of Lydia.  
“Well I shouldn't actually stay,” Lydia stood up again, “I need to meet up with Clary and Iz.”  
“I'm pretty sure Clary was here just before R...” George quickly pretended to stutter over his words so not to give Robbie away, “before I got here.”  
“Damn,” Lydia frowned, “well I'm going to grab a hot chocolate and go,” she waved and rushed away from the table.   
After a moment Robbie whispered from under the table, “tell me when she's gone.”  
“Alright,” George replied quietly, he looked over to Alec who was shaking his head, “he's not hiding to be a dick if that's what you think.”  
Alec raised an eyebrow and pulled a face which George translated to 'well it seems like it'.  
“He's going to surprise her, she thought he was meant to return in a week or so but he's home early so he wants to surprise her.”  
Alec stopped himself from growling about the boy, for some reason it frustrated him to see a boy treat a girl this way.  
“Took your time,” George tutted as Jace and Simon arrived back to table.  
“The barista wouldn't stop flirting with Jace,” Simon sighed, “I don't blame her.”  
“Nobody does,” Jace grinned.   
George tuned out of the conversation and paid attention to Lydia as she took her drink and then walked out of the coffee shop, waving to the boys as she left. He waited for her to pass the window before waving Robbie up.  
Robbie jumped up and placed his hands on his hips, “right.”  
“So you're waiting to surprise Lydia?” Jace raised his eyebrows.  
“Yes.”  
“You know if she doesn't get a great surprise from you, if you were hiding from her for another reason, I'll punch you in the throat.”  
“I'll punch you in the face,” Simon held up his hand.  
“Me too,” George grinned at Robbie.  
Alec held up his hand and nodded.  
“You don't like me very much, do you?” Robbie asked with a huff as he took his jacket from Alec. He waited for Alec's response, which was a shrug, “right, well I'm not a bad boyfriend, I love Lydia.”   
Alec raised an eyebrow, not seeming to believe what he was being told.  
“Well I wanted to surprise her tomorrow night, but it looks like I'll be surprising her at the protest instead.”


	5. Say What You Wanna Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Isabelle and Alec make moves to improve their relationships with their new friends.

Isabelle hummed loudly to herself as she finished her fifth sign, each sign had it's own slogan on it, some being puns which Izzy was extremely proud of. She placed the sign down on the floor and looked up as Clary rushed into the room holding a sign of her own.  
“Lydia and Magnus are both on their way now, oh you haven't actually met Magnus yet have you?”  
“No.”  
“You're going to love him, he used to work at Institute but he left a few months ago.”  
“Is he cute?”  
“Oh yeah, but he's not really... my type.”  
“Oh?”  
Clary raised an eyebrow and began to laugh, “I like girls.”   
“Oh, oh!” Izzy leaned forward, “really?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Me too! Wow, if I had known you liked girls I would have totally asked you out when we met, I mean you wouldn't have to say yes bu-”  
“I'd like that.”  
“Huh?”  
“I'd like to go out with you.”  
“You would?”  
“Yes.”  
“Oh my God, awesome, cool, wow.”  
Clary began to giggle, she looked as though she wanted to lean forward and kiss Izzy but she jumped back when she heard a knock at the door, she cleared her throat and then awkwardly stood up, she rushed away to open the front door. Izzy sat by her signs with a grin on her face. A moment later Clary came back into the room with a taller man by her side, Clary was wrong, he wasn't cute – he was beautiful.   
“Ah, you must be Isabelle,” the man smiled down at Izzy, she stood up to shake his hand, “I'm Magnus.”  
“Hi,” Izzy replied, feeling almost nervous, “wow, you know... You're gorgeous.”  
“Woah now,” Clary chuckled, “you only just asked me out, girl.”  
“But he is.”  
“He is.”  
“Thank you?” Magnus cocked his head to the side and let out a laugh, “well girls, have you got a solid plan for tomorrow?”  
“We crash the public statement and let the world know how much of a pig my father really is,” Clary grinned, “he's going to hate me.”  
“Your brother will too.”  
“Sebastian already hates me,” Clary scoffed, “he's jealous that I'm talented and beautiful.”  
Magnus let out a laugh and then picked up one of the signs, “don't judge by the anatomy. Witty.”  
“It gets the message across.”  
Clary spun around as another knock came from the door, “there's Lydia,” she rushed to answer the door and walked back into the room with Lydia following her.  
“Jace is back, and his new friend was there too, I think his name was Alex? He was quiet but really cute.”  
“Don't let Robbie know you think that,” Izzy teased Lydia with a grin.  
Lydia waved her hand, “Robbie calls George hot all the time, he'd let me have this one. Anyway I don't date boys for their looks, why do you think Robbie and I are dating?”  
“Lydia,” Clary scolded the blonde.  
“I'm kidding, I love Robbie, but I did start dating him for his personality and talent rather than his looks, but he's still pretty cute. The guy with Jace didn't even speak so...”  
“Was he a mute?” Izzy asked, remembering her brother.  
“I can't remember, I was thinking of Robbie practically the whole way home, it sucks that he won't be here tomorrow.”  
“He'll be okay,” Clary shrugged, “the focus here is on Institute, remember? Not Robbie.”  
“Yeah I know, but he would have loved to be here.”  
“You talk about him as though he's dead,” Magnus hummed, “he's only in Ireland, honey.”  
“He hasn't even sent me a message since the other day,” Lydia frowned, “he always sends me a 'goodnight gorgeous' or something like that, but he hasn't sent anything.”  
“I'm sure he's busy,” Clary tutted, “Lydia, he loves you , he won't ignore you on purpose.”  
Lydia crossed her arms, “you're right I'm probably being stupid,” she shrugged, “so anyway this protest tomorrow...”  
“Let's get planning.”

***

“'I'll tell your girlfriend that you're hiding from her'?” Robbie screwed up the paper in his hand and glared at Alec, “no way dude! I told you like fifteen times that I'm not hiding from her to be a dick, I'm going to surprise her at the protest tomorrow.”  
Alec shook his head and rolled his eyes.  
“So he comes back and doesn't tell his girlfriend, kind of like Izzy left you without saying anything, huh?” He turned to his side and saw Poppy grinning at him, “guess they're pretty similar, huh?”  
Alec looked down at the floor and then grabbed a book from Robbie's bookshelf and threw it over at the boy.  
“Hey!” Robbie dodged the book and stood up suddenly, “I'm letting you stay here, don't throw my books at me,” he glanced down to the book and picked it up, “especially not this book! I actually liked this one.”  
Alec reached onto the shelf and picked up a trophy.  
“No no no,” Robbie rushed forward and grabbed the trophy, “not that either, Alec please listen to me, I'm not hiding to hurt Lydia. Why do you think I am? You don't know me, you don't know Lydia, you don't know how much I love her.”  
Alec glanced down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with Robbie, he thought about how his sister had left him without notice, and that hurt him. Alec then thought about all the boys in movies, who hid their return from their girlfriends – keeping a secret. It didn't seem fair.   
“Are you going to believe him?” Alec heard Poppy again, but he didn't look at her, he walked past Robbie and sat down on the boy's bed. He saw Robbie crouch down in front of him and placed his hand on Alec's knee.  
“You still don't believe me, do you?”   
Alec slowly let himself look into Robbie's eyes.  
“Do you?” Robbie paused and then let out a sigh, “look, Alec, tomorrow – when I surprise Lydia – you can see how much I love her. I don't understand why you don't think I do. I'm not some sleaze bag you see in the movies, I promise. Can you just give me a chance and maybe not throw my trophies at me?” He waved the trophy he was still holding, he let out a small laugh and gave Alec a sweet crooked smile, “let's try to get along.”  
Alec nodded and after a moment began to smile.   
“No more throwing stuff?”  
Another nod, Robbie moved to sit on the bed next to Alec.  
“Let's be nicer, huh?” He waited for another nod before placing his hand on Alec's back, he then looked down at the trophy in his hand and let out a small chuckle, “man I'm so glad you didn't throw this at me, it would hurt.”  
Alec snickered and looked back down to the floor, “sorry.”  
Robbie shifted suddenly, Alec lifted his head to see the surprised look on Alec's face, “you...”  
Alec pressed his lips together again and avoided eye contact with Robbie.  
“You spoke to me. That's... That's awesome,” Robbie was grinning, “that must be a bold move, huh? Just saying that to me.”


	6. You're Gonna Hear My Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the protest against the Institute arrives.

“Look at this turn out!” Lydia clapped her hands together, “Clary, this is amazing.”  
Clary was grinning as she looked around the crowds, “it is, isn't it?”  
“I still wish Robbie were here.”  
“Lydia, you know you don't need Robbie to be here, I love you but you sound like someone who can't cope without their partner and I know you can.”  
“I know but he wanted to be here to support this...”  
“And here I am,” Lydia spun around when she heard Robbie's voice, he was grinning and holding his arms out. Lydia quickly rushed to hug him. He lifted her from the ground and spun on the spot before letting her feet touch the ground again.  
“You weren't meant to be back for another week or so,” Lydia stated excitedly, and then waved to the tall boy who was standing behind Robbie, “oh hey Alex!”  
“It's actually Alec,” Robbie corrected as he pulled a face.  
“Alec?” Clary raised an eyebrow, “well hi, I'm Clary.”  
“He doesn't really speak, he's a selective mute.”  
“Selective mu... What's his last name?”  
“Lightwood, why?”  
Clary gasped loudly, “you're Izzy's brother! I have to go get her, she had no idea you were going to be here, oh wow this is awesome.”

***

As Clary rushed away from the crowd Alec shook his head and backed away, Robbie had began explaining to Lydia how he had been hiding under the table at the coffee shop when Alec turned away from them. He began to push past people, he didn't want to see Izzy, she had left him alone with his parents – which was probably worse than being left alone. After passing a few people he tripped over his own feet and fell into a man near the back of the crowd, somehow the man had actually managed to catch Alec in his arms.   
Alec took a moment to look up into the man's eyes, the man seemed physically flawless and surprisingly Alec found himself stuttering as he tried to form a smile, “h-h-hi.”  
“Well hi,” the man replied with a chuckle, “I'm Magnus, and you are?”  
“Alec,” Alec then backed up slightly, shocked at himself.  
“Alec,” Izzy's voice made both Alec and Magnus jump, “did you just...? You spoke!”  
Magnus raised an eyebrow, “you two know each other?”  
“He's my brother,” Izzy approached the pair, she noticed Alec seem flinch back slightly, “Alec... of course, I should have realised sooner – Lydia said she met a boy called Alex who was quiet... But she must have misheard your name.”  
“Ah, the cute boy, right?” Magnus grinned as he looked at Alec, “well she's definitely not wrong.”  
Alec felt himself blush as he turned away from Magnus.  
“Alec, why did you come to Brooklyn? How did you get here? Did you know I was here?”  
Alec opened his mouth but didn't answer, he looked around and then dropped his head to stare at the ground.  
“Alec?”  
“I brought him here,” Alec looked up again, seeing Jace with his hands on his hips, he was stood behind Izzy, making her spin around to look at him, “and surely you should know Alec won't speak to you, I mean come on,” he let a small smile play on his face.  
“The coffee truck guy?” Izzy glanced back to Alec and raised an eyebrow.   
“Jace,” Magnus let out a small laugh, “small world huh, we all know Jace.”  
“So... Clary's kind of ex is our coffee guy?”  
“We never dated,” Jace defended himself quickly, “anyway, Alec came up to the coffee truck by himself – and I knew that was odd. Then when I was just starting to drive to Brooklyn I saw him walking by himself, just carrying two bags, so I asked him a few questions and it turned out he wanted to leave. I guess, by chance, we ended up in Brooklyn with you.”  
“Kind of fateful,” Magnus added quietly, making Alec give a small smile to the man.

***

Robbie held his hand against his now red cheek and pouted down at Lydia, “you know, yesterday I had a book thrown at me by a mute, I didn't expect you to slap me.”  
“You hid from me?”  
“For the surprise? I was contemplating jumping out from under the table but I got comfortable.”  
“Right.”  
“Lydia... I wanted to surprise you, I was going to surprise you tonight at the bar but then you were saying to George that you wanted me to be here today and I thought I'd show up here instead!”  
Lydia let out a sigh and crossed her arms, “you promise you were hiding for the right reasons?”   
“I promise.”  
“Alright, and I better get a stellar performance from you tonight,” Lydia rolled her eyes, “now where's Clary, I'm pretty sure Valentine's about to start his big announcement.”  
Lydia scanned the crowd until she caught sight of the redhead, she pointed to Clary and pulled Robbie through the crowd to Clary's side.  
“You ready?”  
“I've always been ready,” Clary scoffed and kept an eye out for Valentine's appearance, “once he steps out, we start.”  
“Where's Izzy?”  
“Turns out your buddy 'Alex' is actually her brother Alec... So now I have an extra sign,” she waved the extra placard, “Robbie, you want one?”  
“Sure,” the boy smiled and took the sign from Clary.  
“Alright, let's find out if Mr. Big-and-mighty can handle the hate.”  
They watched as Valentine took confident strides out of the building, Clary recognised the blond by his side – Sebastian his son, of course he'd have him there as back-up.   
Clary held up her sign before Valentine could even begin to talk, “what do we want?”  
The crowd cheered in response, “equal rights for men and women!”  
The chants continued as Valentine tried to make his statement.  
“The remarks that I am a sexist are untrue.”  
The crowd began to murmur, they were laughing at the man's lies. He tried to defend himself and then made a comment which made the crowd go silent.  
“My new assistant is Kira Moreton.”  
Clary spun around and saw the woman with dark hair storm forward through the crowd, “don't lie! You never thought of that promotion until you were threatened like this, I don't want your promotion, in fact I don't want your job! I quit!”  
The crowd reacted in cheers and multiple people bean to chant for Valentine to resign, Clary noticed Izzy appear by her side looking oddly uncomfortable but still joining in with the yells of the protest. In a matter of minutes, Valentine had yelled 'enough' and stormed back inside the building making the crowd erupt in laughter. Clary grinned as her brother sneered across to her before he followed his father into the building.   
“I think you knocked something into him,” Izzy whispered into Clary's ear, “that's stage one sorted, huh?”


	7. It's My Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During a celebration of their protest, Alec asks Robbie about his confidence.

“I can't believe you did that!” Simon cheered as he held a glass up to Kira, “to Kira Moreton, may she find a new job, and find one soon!”  
“We'll help you find one,” Clary nodded proudly, “and hey, if you ever need a babysitter, I'll help – free of charge.”  
“Thanks guys,” Kira smiled brightly to the young people around her.  
“Onto the celebration of a job well done,” Simon clapped his hands together and began to walk towards the stage, “ladies and gentlemen, feel privileged as you witness the debut performance of Rock Solid Panda!”  
“That's not our name!” George yelled from behind the drumkit.  
“It's pending, anyway, our first performance features the very cuddly and lovable koala bear that is Robbie, come on up!”  
Alec watched as Robbie jumped up onto the platform with a grin, then the music began almost instantly, Simon on his guitar, George on the drums and Tom on bass. Alec recognised the song almost instantly. It took a matter of seconds but Robbie turned into a sudden rockstar as he began singing.  
'This ain't a song for the broken hearted'  
“I love this song!” Lydia cheered loudly into Alec's ear, making him flinch.  
Alec paid attention to the performance, wanting the freedom Robbie seemed to have on the stage, then he found himself in need of the confidence. Everyone at the table seemed to be enjoying the performance, especially Lydia – it made sense since Robbie had said the performance was supposed to be her surprise. Magnus, the man who had caught Alec was sat across from the table, he was next to the blonde girl Alec had seen with George when they arrived to the bar. Magnus seemed stunning to Alec, Alec had even surprised himself when he was so nervous in front of the man that he actually spoke to him. Perhaps it was fateful for him to be like that, maybe in Brooklyn he'd start to speak again, he felt strange thinking about talking again – he didn't want to, he was still upset with Izzy for leaving so he had no need to talk to her. After a moment he thought of one person he might be able to speak to, even if he had thrown a book at him the previous day. Robbie. Robbie had been amazed when Alec muttered the word 'sorry' to him, the reaction made Alec feel as though – perhaps – he could talk to Robbie again, maybe he could eventually be good friends with the boy. Alec watched as Robbie performed, becoming something close to a rockstar as he sang through the song. He wondered how tempting it was to drop the mic when the song finished, but Robbie just let a playful grin spread across his face before he gently placed the microphone back onto the mic stand. As soon as he stepped off of the stage Alec jumped up and dragged him to the side of the room, away from the crowded table.   
“Can I... Talk to you?”  
“Well sure, seeing as apparently I'm the only one you talk to,” Robbie let out a small laugh as Alec pulled him to the side, “what's up?”  
“I was thinking... You just seem so,” Alec shrugged and avoided eye contact with Robbie as he continued, “confident. I want to be like you.”  
“Oh, really? Wow. I... Really?”  
“Yeah, you're so brave and confident.”  
“The confidence is more of a mask,” Robbie informed him quietly, “I'm just as fragile as anybody else in this room.”  
“But you- you seem so-”  
“It's a trick, I pretend not to care what people think about me.”  
“Really?”  
“People don't realise that when I'm alone, away from everyone, I get upset about it all. Sometimes I cry,” Alec watched the usual wall of bravery that surrounded Robbie crumble to the ground as he spoke, his confidence disappeared and he seemed fragile. Alec was surprised.   
“Oh.”  
“Do you cry?”  
“Y-yes.”  
“Sometimes you just need to,” Robbie pressed his lips together and nodded, “you have to be weak to seem strong.”  
“Right.”  
“Why did you ask me?”  
“I...” Alec shook his head and shrugged, “you were so confident up there, it was w-wonderful. Besides, you're... The only person I actually w-want to speak to.”  
“What about Izzy?” Robbie looked over to Alec's sister, Alec turned to see her talking eagerly to the redhead, “she's confident, isn't she?”  
“I... Don't want to talk to her.”  
“Why not?”  
“She left me! She left me alone with my st-stupid parents.”  
Robbie set his hand on Alec's shoulder, “I'm sure she didn't mean to.”  
“But she did,” Alec slowly moved to nudge Robbie's hand off of his shoulder, “and it... It hurt me. You can ask her... Ask her why she left me alone.”  
“I will,” Robbie slowly nodded his head, “I will.”  
Alec let himself smile down at Robbie, “thank you...”

***

“So Alec speaks to Robbie?” Magnus raised his eyebrows as he leaned across to Isabelle, “he knows that Robbie's dating Lydia right?”  
“Oh yeah, apparently he threw a book at Robbie because he thought he was being a bad boyfriend to him,” Izzy shrugged, “but it's strange, it's been years since he spoke to someone... And now he's speaking to Robbie, to a guy he just met and he still hasn't spoken to me?”  
“Jealous?”  
“Upset,” Izzy shook her head, “I thought I was his best friend... But then-”  
“You did leave him,” Jace reminded Izzy, he looked to Robbie and Alec and then back to Izzy, “don't you think that upset him?”  
“I... But before that, we love each other, we're brother and sister!”  
“Don't get too upset now sweetie,” Magnus leaned back, “I don't think Alec would appreciate you being angry at him after you left him.”  
“I...” Izzy sighed, “alright I guess I'll apologise to him.”  
“You guess?” Jace raised an eyebrow, “the boy seemed so broken that you weren't with him when he came to the coffee truck, he's practically lost without you.”  
Izzy watched sadly as Alec and Robbie returned to the table smiling with each other, “not anymore,” she sighed and looked down, “it's my own fault.”

***

Alec looked at Magnus as he took a seat, he gave the man a smile before looking away again, thoughts ran through his mind – he had found Magnus so enticing that he had actually spoken when they first met, without realising he was speaking. The man did seem flawless to Alec, flawlessly beautiful. Alec found himself wanting to speak to the man again but he also didn't want to move so fast with this, he had just started talking to Robbie, he didn't want to be talking to everyone by the end of the week. Though it would probably anger Izzy if he spoke to more than one person before her.   
“Wow, feeling brave, huh?”   
“Fuck,” Alec mumbled under his breath, he knew the word had caught attention of some of the group sat around him, Robbie, Jace, Izzy, Clary, Lydia and Magnus mostly. Alec glanced to his right and saw Poppy looking at him with a grin.  
“Oh, am I your next lucky one? What have you got to say to me buddy, come on I want to hear it, you haven't spoken to me since... Well since you were eighteen! I remember the last words you said to me, do you remember?”  
“Why can't you leave me alone?” Alec looked up, knowing that his new friends were still watching him.  
“They're going to think your crazy Alec, look at them, they're already starting to think it,” Poppy laughed loudly and then leaned forward, “just like before.”  
“Why are you such a bitch?” Alec hissed.  
“Because you keep trying to ignore me!”  
“Alec!” Izzy waved her hand in front of Alec's face, it made the image of Poppy disappear. He looked up his sister who was leaning across the table, “was it...?”   
Alec nodded, knowing what Izzy was talking about.  
“Still?”  
Another nod.  
Izzy chewed on her bottom lip, she gave her brother a worried look, “well... Alec just focus on what you know is real, okay?”  
Alec gave Izzy a look which she read as 'easier said than done'.  
“We'll be here to help you out with it.”  
Alec shook his head and looked down at the table, he wondered what they'd all think of him now, the freak who won't talk also has an imaginary friend, terrific, great.  
“We will,” Alec felt Robbie's hand on his back, he looked to the boy who gave him a bright smile.  
“Whatever you're going through,” Magnus began speaking from across the table, “we'll all be here.”  
“Isn't that what your dad said?” Poppy sneered, this time she was behind Alec, but he didn't look at her, “Alexander, we'll all be by your side no matter what. Right?” She made an almost pathetic raspberry noise and then laughed, “and you're stupid if you believe them.”


	8. Walking The Long Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Robbie end up having a conversation that Alec didn't expect.

“Your brother's going to be okay, right?” Clary asked Izzy as they left the bar, she glanced over her shoulder to Robbie, Lydia and Alec who were all walking side by side.  
“Hopefully, Poppy isn't that big of a deal.”  
“Poppy... So Alec has an... Is she like an imaginar-”  
“Definitely not an imaginary friend, someone who just invades his mind and refuses to leave.”  
“Oh.”  
“She seems to taunt him a lot,” Isabelle whispered as she linked her and Clary's arms together, “and it tortures me to see him so affected by her.”  
“He talks to Robbie,” Clary hummed, “that must mean something, right?”  
“Maybe,” Izzy let out a sigh, “maybe he'll begin to talk to me again.”  
“Izzy!” Izzy turned when she heard Robbie call her name, the boy grabbed her arm as she turned around, he smiled at her and then quietly asked her a question, “Alec... Alec wants to know why you left him?”  
“What?”  
“He wants to know why you left him at home with your parents.”  
“I... I had to get out of there, I didn't want to leave him I wanted to leave mom and dad.”  
“You could have brought him with you.”  
“I just-”  
“You need to apologise to him, tell him why you left without saying a word,” Robbie shrugged, “please?”  
“I will.”  
“Promise?”  
“Of course.”

***

“I know you said that you were waiting to surprise Lydia,” Alec started quietly as he and Robbie entered Robbie's bedroom, Robbie turned around curiously as he pulled his denim jacket off, “but you seemed so guilty when Simon first brought it up...”  
“I told you why.”  
“Yeah. Robbie, you've proved to be a pretty great guy but, when I bring this up you seem to ge-”  
“I kissed a guy,” Robbie admitted quietly, “I- I was drunk and I... I kissed this guy I used to be best friends with.”  
“Oh.”  
“That's why I looked guilty, but that's not why I was hiding from her, not entirely. After I kissed the guy I realised how much I had fucked up, it's why I came back early. Then I wanted to surprise Lydia, because I love her, I do.”  
“Maybe you should just tell he-”  
“She slapped me when I said I had been hiding under the table,” Robbie shook his head, “she'd actually hate me if I told her this.”  
“But she loves you, won't she understand.”  
“I'm scared that it will hurt her.”  
“Maybe you shouldn't have done it then,” Alec shrugged and gave a small laugh, knowing that Robbie would have constantly been thinking the same.  
“When I say I was drunk, I mean I was stereotypically Irish drunk, I didn't realise what I had done until I had done it.”  
“Does George know?”  
“Yes, he was the first person I called and in fact he hit me when I got back to Brooklyn.”  
“Good.”  
Robbie let a small smile play on his face, “I deserved it.”  
“Wait.”  
“What?”  
“I- I said I'd hit you if you had done something bad and were hiding it from Lydia...”  
“You threw a book at me, isn't that enough?”  
Alec shrugged and then quickly punched Robbie's shoulder making Robbie stumble to the side. There was a moment of laughter between the boys, Robbie then sat down on the bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, “I should tell her, shouldn't I?”  
“No, George and I are hitting you because you shouldn't tell her,” Alec replied sarcastically, “of course you should.”  
“I don't want things to end,” Robbie admitted, he dropped his phone and covered his face with his hands, “what if she reacts badly and breaks up with me.”  
“You only kissed him.”  
“But I hesitated to tell her,” Robbie whispered.  
“The way you were acting so defensive... I thought you had purposely cheated on her.”  
“It's still bad,” Robbie gripped the covers that he was sat on top of and then fell back. Alec looked down at the boy and let out a small huff of laughter, “don't laugh,” Robbie quickly threw a pillow at Alec and then sat up again, “alright I'll tell her tomorrow, if I'm single afterwards...”  
“I'll comfort you,” Alec sat down next to Robbie, “and... And you can help me with my lovelife,” Alec felt a burst of confidence as he spoke, “because,” he paused and shuffled slightly, “because I think... I think there's someone I like. I kind of only just met him but when I first s-saw him I felt really nervous. I actually spoke to him.”  
“You did?”  
“Yeah,” Alec left a moment of silence before shaking his head, “it's not you! I-if that's what you think.”  
“I gathered.”  
“It's that... That Magnus guy.”  
“Magnus Bane?” Robbie suddenly seemed far more interested, he leaned over to Alec and grinned, “I'll give you that, he's a pretty attractive guy.”  
“You didn't kiss him too did you?”  
“You're feeling confident now aren't you,” Robie let out a laugh, “confident and cocky. No, I didn't kiss Magnus.”  
“He's... He seems flawless.”  
“He basically is.”  
“But... Will you help me with him?”  
“Of course,” Robbie shrugged and stood up, “how about I asked him to hang out with you, maybe make it a date?”


	9. Watching The Sky Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clary and her friends are forced to leave the area of the Institute and Robbie takes on Alec's advice.

The day after the protest the group of friends had met up again – at Clary's regular bench outside the Institute building, Alec was sat watching Jace interact with Simon and Clary when he felt Izzy sit next to him, he didn't want to look at her so he continued to stare forward.  
“Alec...”  
He turned his head to the side, away from Izzy.  
“Alec can you please listen to me? I know... I know I left you with mom and dad, but if I went back to get you I'd never leave. I didn't think you'd be ready to leave home, I didn't think you'd be up for it. I love you, I didn't... I wouldn't... I wouldn't just leave you.”  
“But you did,” Alec whispered, he slowly turned to look at her, “y-you did.”  
“But not out of spite,” Izzy dismissed the surprise of Alec speaking to her, she placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes, “I left because I needed to start a new life somewhere else, I didn't want to leave you or Max but I had to. I had to get out of that place. I love you, and I love Max. If you think I'm so bad for leaving you there why didn't you bring Max with you?”  
Alec stared straight into Izzy's eyes, unable to respond in anyway.  
“Exactly,” Izzy shrugged after getting no response, “you had to leave so you did. How do you think Max is feeling right now, both his brother and sister left him without a word. I know that I left you, and I know it must have hurt... But I do love you.”  
Alec stayed still for a moment before smiling, he wrapped an arm around Izzy's shoulder and pulled her close for a hug.  
“You still love me?” Izzy asked as she pressed her head against Alec's chest. Alec nodded down at her as she pulled away.   
Alec pulled Izzy back into a hug and glanced over as Robbie and Lydia slowly walked back to the group, Robbie had his hands placed in his pockets and he was staring at his feet as he walked. Lydia looked equally as awkward, when they reached everyone again Lydia ended up walking to Clary's side. She tapped the redhead on the shoulder and Alec watched as they shared several whispers between them – then Clary looked to Robbie who had ended up standing by George.   
Alec stood up suddenly, making Izzy jump from the sudden movement. He excused himself with a wave and then made his way over to the two boys. He gently grabbed Robbie's shoulder and turned him, he gave him a look to ask what happened.  
“I told her,” Robbie sighed, “about that stupid kiss in Ireland.”  
“What happened?” George asked quietly as he studied his friend's expression.  
“What do you think?” Robbie's reply was almost too quiet for either Alec or George to hear, he glanced over his shoulder to Lydia and then turned back to the two boys, “we decided to break up, she said she would have been fine if she felt as though she could trust me. It's my own fault, I told her that I was hiding to surprise her for the right reason, I should have just told her straight away. Hey, there's nothing I can do about it now, we said we'll stay friends – but we all know how that usually ends.”  
“I'm so sorry.”  
“Don't be, I did a dick thing and got what I deserved,” Robbie waved his hand at George, “I'll be spending the next few nights alone with a tub of ice cream,” he paused and looked at Alec, “I guess Alec will be there with me.”  
Alec let out a small laugh and then nodded his head over to Magnus who had moved to talk to Izzy.  
“You want me to talk to him for you?”  
Alec gave a small nod, as Robbie began walking towards Magnus George stepped toward Alec with a grin, “you've got a thing for Magnus?”  
The moment was interrupted when a tall blond boy approached the area, he seemed as though he was growling after he called out Clary's name, “Clarissa!”  
Clary flinched at the voice, she looked away from Lydia and over to the boy who was glaring at her, “Sebastian...”  
“Father wants to talk to you.”  
Alec saw Clary roll her eyes as she scoffed, “what about?”  
“I think you know what.”  
“Well tell him I don't want to be seen talking to such a misogynistic pig.”

***

Izzy glanced across as Clary hissed in reply to the tall blond boy, she knew he was Clary's brother, and she knew that he was an asshole just like his father. But did that really give Clary the reason to act like that? Perhaps. Izzy shot up onto her feet and made a quick stride over to Clary, she placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder as she began yelling at Sebastian.  
“In fact, I don't want to be seen talking to you either, you're just like him. You're a monster just like him. You and Valentine are both delusional if you think I'll want to talk to you! You're both horrible vicious animals who deserve to d-”  
“Clary,” Izzy shushed the girl and looked over to the blond who glared down at her, “I know... I know you want the world to be fair and equal, to rid the world of hate. But look at yourself, how do you expect to rid hate with hate. I don't like the sound of your father and brother, but I know that hating them won't get this cause anywhere. How can you call out for a perfect world when you're getting angry at the people who don't agree with you. The protest yesterday was a step forward, but I think now we should take a calmer approach to make people realise what they need to.”  
“Yeah, listen to your bitch, Clary,” Sebastian hissed at the two girls.  
Izzy held her hand up to the tall boy but kept her eyes on Clary, “not needed right now,” she brought her hand back down and gave Clary a small smile, “you're better than they are, don't stoop to their level. Fight for what you want, but don't use hate against hate.”  
Clary stared at Izzy for a moment before nodding, she slowly turned her head to look up at her brother and gave him a smile, “thank you for the offer, but I decline.”  
The blond scowled at Izzy and Clary before turning away, he began to stalk away from the crowd of friends but he turned back with a sly grin, “oh, and another thing Clarissa. If father or I find you and your delinquent friends hanging out around Institute, we will get security on you. So how about you all leave here, you're in the vicinity.”  
“You're kidding me,” Clary scoffed, “we're barely even that close to the Institute.”  
“Father can see your pathetic ginger hair from his office, and if he can see that, then you need to move away.”  
The group of friends all looked at one another before they began to head in the direction of the bar where Raphael worked.  
“No we can't just give up like that,” Clary huffed.  
“Clary, it's not giving up,” Izzy shrugged, “let's go, our next plan of movement can be something... Slower and less aggressive.”


	10. There's No Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia deals with the aftermath of a break up but when one relationship ends there's hope for a new relationship blooming.

They had made it to the bar in record time, each of them settled back into the place they had been the previous day. Lydia watched her now ex-boyfriend with a sad expression, but she tried to cover up her sorrow with false happiness as the music played.  
“It's not that bad a loss,” George's girlfriend, Chloe, whispered into Lydia's ear, “he's a great guy but...”  
“He took me to Disneyland.”  
“He kissed a guy in Ireland.”  
“He sang to me.”  
“He kissed a guy in Ireland.”  
“And he always k-”  
“Lydia, he kissed a guy in Ireland!”  
Lydia stared at the other blonde before letting out a laugh, “you're right, he did.”  
“You need someone who doesn't adhere to the stereotypes of their sexuality,” Chloe chuckled, she nodded over to Jace who was stood at the bar talking to Simon and Raphael, “Jace is pansexual isn't he? Why don't you give him a go?”  
“Just because he's pansexual doesn't mean he'll like me.”  
“So go flirt with him.”  
“It's a bit soon.”  
“Then just talk as friends,” Chloe waved a hand. She scooted out of the seat and almost skipped over to Paris who was leaning up against the wall by herself. Lydia glanced over to Jace, wondering if she could make a move this soon. Then she looked back to Robbie who was letting out a loud laugh about something George had said.  
“God, you've been broken up with for like thirty minutes Lydia, stop being so freaking dramatic,” she hissed to herself and leaned back in the chair, “Chloe's right, he kissed a guy in Ireland, shouldn't he be more upset about his mistake that led to this stupid break up?” She shook her head and closed her eyes, “if he thinks he's getting that Flash shirt back he's so wron-” Lydia jumped when she felt someone poke her shoulder from the side, she turned swiftly and saw the new boy, Alec, smiling at her.  
“Oh, hey Alec,” she waited for a response before realising who she was speaking to, “right sorry, I forgot about you not... Uh... Are you okay?”  
He gave her a smile and a swift nod, then moved his head as if to ask her the same thing.   
“I'm good.”  
He placed his hand on her wrist, grabbing her full attention, then he pointed his head over to Robbie and Lydia found herself letting out a scoff of laughter.  
“Robbie told me that you got him to tell me, thanks, I guess,” she saw the expression on his face and waved her hand, “don't feel bad. He should feel bad, he kissed a guy in Ireland and didn't want to tell me about it... Thank you Alec, for making him tell me. Otherwise I would have been clueless and stupid.”  
“Alec?”   
Both Lydia and Alec looked forward as Magnus approached them, Alec seemed to turn nervous as he looked at the man.  
“Can I... Talk to you quickly?”

***

Magnus thought about the conversation he had had with Robbie just a few moments ago, he had been hinting to Magnus that Alec was interested in him, it was subtle hints like 'I mean he might need someone to help him out... Just... With stuff' and it was humorous to Magnus because he knew Robbie had already been helping Alec out – of course Alec didn't need Magnus to help him. Then there were more hints 'no but it has to be you', until finally Robbie just gave up and decided to say 'just take him to coffee?' so of course he had just been trying to set up a date for the two men. It was entertaining and it made Magnus grin as he looked down at the younger man.   
So now Magnus was looking up at Alec, taken back at the height difference, “so... Alec. I've been told to ask you on a date.”  
Alec's eyes went wide and he nervously pulled the cuffs of his sleeves over his hands, he stared down at the floor after a moment of silence.   
“And you know, that might be a nice idea,” Magnus noticed how Alec looked back up to him trying to hide a smile, “so what do you say? You want to get coffee sometime?” He let out a small chuckle and shook his head as Alec didn't seem to respond, “right, you don't say anything,” then he paused, “I'm sorry that wasn't a very nice thing to say was it?”  
Alec waved a hand, dismissing it, he gave Magnus a smile.  
“So uh, that date?”  
Alec gave a nod and glanced away from Magnus to see Robbie trying to secretly watch the exchange.   
“Great, well how about later today?”  
Alec looked back to Magnus and shook his head before pointing down, hoping Magnus would know what he meant.  
“Now?”  
Another nod.  
“Alright, of course! Shall we go grab some coffee then?”

***

“Look on the bright side,” George whispered into Robbie's ear, “one relationship ends, a new one begins.”  
“I hate you so much,” Robbie replied drily to his friend. George was beginning to let out his childish laugh, but he silenced as Robbie turned to him with a deadpan expression.  
“Hey, you're lucky I'm still your friend after the mistake you made,” George scoffed and crossed his arms, “I could easily hate you for what you did to Lydia.”   
“Clary does, Jace probably does, Simon does, I'm pretty sure Paris and Chloe do an-”  
“Well you did kiss an Irish guy, so who do you hate more, me or yourself?”  
“Good question... Myself.”  
“Maybe you can start making yourself a better person,” George shrugged and then left Robbie's side, he approached Lydia who was now sat by herself looking down at her phone, “Lyds, Lyds, leader of the kids,” he chanted and clapped his hands together, he fell down into the seat next to her and grinned, “I ditched your ex to come talk to you, how you holding up?”  
“We've been broken up for thirty minutes.”  
“And neither of you has cried yet,” he shrugged, “good start.”  
“You knew, didn't you.”  
“I did, he called me and cried down the phone,” George jumped when Lydia hit his shoulder, “ow, why?”  
“Why didn't you tell me?”  
“Robbie's my best friend I couldn't betray him like that, I mean if he hadn't told you after a month I would have said something.”  
“That means so much,” Lydia replied in a dry tone.  
“Seriously Lyds, focus on the positives and not the boy who kissed an Irish guy.”  
Lydia raised an eyebrow as George left her side.


	11. Now I'm Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Magnus decide to go on a date where Alec makes several more decisions that could affect his life, either for better or worse. Meanwhile Clary has made decisions of her own, with or without her friends.

Magnus pushed his hands into his pockets as he walked alongside the silent boy, he glanced up to Alec every now and then but the taller boy was focused on the path in front of him – he only knew when to turn when Magnus would bump into him or pull him, whenever they had a moment like this Magnus noticed how Alec would let out a quiet chuckle.  
“So Alec,” Magnus cleared his throat as he spoke, “is it hard, being a selective mute?”  
Alec shrugged, pulled a face and then shook his head.  
“No? Well I wouldn't be able to do it, I couldn't stay silent for too long,” Magnus let out a laugh and then pulled Alec to a stop, “this is it,” Magnus nodded his head to the coffee shop that they were now stood in front of. Alec glanced up at the shop curiously, “come on Alec.”  
Magnus grabbed Alec's hand as they walked into the coffee shop, when he glanced back he noticed Alec looking down at their hands every now and then as though he looked entirely satisfied with the way their hands were interlocked.   
“What do you want?” Magnus asked curiously, then pressed his lips together, “sorry, of course uh...”  
Alec leaned close to Magnus' ear, “can I just have a mocha?”  
“Of course,” Magnus grinned as he turned to Alec, “I'll pay.”  
Alec looked around the shop as Magnus approached the counter, he thought about how fast things seemed to move when he came to Brooklyn, he was already on a date. Things didn't have to move fast from there though, he held his hands together and bit his bottom lip. Magnus was a great looking guy, so it was amazing to him that they were already on a date. Alec felt nerves wash over him as he looked at Magnus leaning over the counter, he would have continued to feel the nerves but then he caught sight of Poppy who was stood near Magnus glaring at Alec with her hands on her hips.  
“I can't believe he's still taking you out even though he knows you're insane, really, you don't deserve this kind of person,” she sneered and stepped towards Alec, “you don't deserve any of the people you've met over the past few days, you haven't been here for that long. You're ridiculous, you don't deserve friends, do you? I know you don't think you do, and you'd be right.”  
Alec stared down at the floor for a moment before looking back up to Magnus who was talking to the woman behind the counter.  
“Magnus could find anyone,” Poppy almost growled as she spoke, “so why would he want you?”  
Alec shut his eyes, trying to get rid of Poppy's presence.  
“That's the thing, he doesn't, Robbie obviously paid him to take you out.”  
In a spur of the moment Alec spun around and rushed out of the coffee job, he sprinted down at the pavement and stopped as he turned a corner into an empty alley, he leaned back against the wall and let out a shaky breath. Poppy was probably right.

***

Magnus turned around as he heard the fast footsteps, by them time he had turned around he had only just caught Alec sprinting past the window. Magnus was silenced by shock, he glanced back to the girl behind the counter and then excused himself before running out of the shop in search of Alec. He couldn't see Alec anywhere down the pavement so he began walking in the direction he had seen Alec run.  
“Alec? Alec!” He felt awful, had he done something to upset the boy? He looked around the corner into an alley, he would have turned away but as he looked around he saw something move behind a group of trash cans – it could have been an animal but he had seen a man's foot move, he slowly began to walk down the allet, “Alec are you down here? I mean if you are you won't respond... But if you are, can you come out?”  
He watched as Alec slowly shuffled out from where he had been sat.  
“What are you doing?” Magnus let out a small chuckle, “why did you run away?”  
Alec folded his arms and turned away, he then turned back and rushed over to Magnus, embracing him in a hug as soon as he could.  
“It's okay Alec,” Magnus whispered as he accepted Alec's hug, “whatever's wrong, it'll be okay.”  
“I just want to get rid of her,” Alec replied quietly.  
“Who?” Magnus asked, trying not to seem shocked to hear Alec speak again.  
“Poppy.”

***

Isabelle tied her hair back as she watched Clary, the redhead was excitedly talking to Simon and Raphael. Clary was a beautiful girl, Izzy had known that the instant she set eyes on her on the bench near the Institute, Izzy was proud that she had managed to get Clary, Clary was beautiful and she was now Izzy's girlfriend. Clary began discussing her new plan of movement with her stand against the sexism, Izzy made his way over to Clary and rested her hand against Clary's back, the redhead jumped but then smiled when she saw Izzy.  
“Hey Iz.”  
“Hi.”  
“I was just explaining to the boys what my next plan of action is.”  
“And that is?” Izzy hummed curiously.  
“Getting the press involved,” Raphael replied to the question, “Clarissa reckons that having the sexism story taken over by the media will make it all better.”  
“Are you kidding?” Isabelle raised her eyebrows at Clary and shook her head, “Clary no, the media will only make things worse, they'll make us the villains of the story.”  
“That's what I was saying,” Raphael whispered as he turned around and began moving the cups around the bar, as though trying to distract himself from the conversation.  
“Maybe so,” Clary waved a hand, “but what better way to spread the word than media?”  
“That's the worst idea you've ever had,” Simon shook his head, “come on Clary, you're smarter than this, the press are dicks, never trust the media.”  
“I know, I know,” Clary shrugged, “but it might be a way to spread the word.”  
“The media are even more manipulative than your father,” Izzy hissed quietly.  
“So you don't think it's a good idea,” Clary crossed her arms and let out a sigh, “well it might be a stupid idea to you guys, but I'm going through with it,” she picked up her sketchbook from the top of the bar and left Simon and Izzy to talk to each other.   
Raphael glanced over his shoulder to Izzy and Simon who both looked defeated, “it's okay, she'll realise her mistake.”  
Izzy nodded and then glanced to Simon, “so how's your new band coming along, you guys gave a smashing performance yesterday.”  
“Well, our name is still pending, Tom and George refuse to have Rock Solid Panda, so I was thinking... Maybe something like...”  
“Like...?”  
“Brooklyn Bros.”  
“No.”  
“Killer Sheep.”  
“Definitely not.”  
“What? Can you think of something better?”  
“Probably,” Izzy shrugged with a grin.  
“Go on then, hit me.”  
“How about you give me a little time to think of one, and I'll come back to you.”  
“Alright, but I want it by the end of this week.”  
“Deal.”

***

Magnus let himself form a smile as he sat down at the coffee table with Alec, he had managed to talk Alec around to returning to their date. After a moment of silence he leaned forward and grabbed Alec's hand and gave him a smile of support.  
“Tell me about her, this Poppy, what does she look like?” Magnus waited, forgetting about Alec's selective mutism, he was about to apologise but stopped as Alec began to confidently speak to him.  
“Tall, red hair, she's actually really pretty,” Alec let out a small laugh, “until she changes, then she just seems too hideous to look at.”  
“She physically changes?”  
“No, I mean, when she starts being cruel, I can't bring myself to look at her because she just seems so evil.”  
Magnus slowly nodded, “is she here?”  
“No,” Alec looked down at the hand that Magnus was holding, “I feel so much safer,” he glanced up again, seeing Magnus watching him with a grin, “having people in Brooklyn that care about me so much... It makes me comfortable.”  
“You deserve comfort,” Magnus nodded, “everyone does. Alec, whatever it takes to make you more comfortable, I'll try to do it.”  
“Most of all, I want to rid my mind of Poppy, I want her to disappear.”  
“I'll do my best to help with that.”  
Alec laughed again, “it's harder than it sounds, trust me.”  
“Doesn't mean I can't try.”  
“Oh you definitely can,” Alec nodded and slowly brought his cup up to his lips, “I mean... You got me talking to you.”  
“You took me by surprise,” Magnus chuckled, “your voice sounds... Beautiful.”  
“Don't fool yourself into believing that,” Alec bit down on his lip.  
“It is, it's enchanting and gorgeous.”  
“You like giving compliments, don't you.”  
“Positivity is everything to me.”  
“God, this is ridiculous,” Alec heard Poppy speak, he turned and saw her sat on a spare chair at their table, “you're so annoying Alec, there's a reason everyone was so happy when you weren't talking.”  
Alec glanced over to Magnus an put on a smile, “she's here, by the way.”  
“Can't you just tell her to leave?” Magnus suggested easily.  
“I've tried,” Alec nodded.  
“Why are you still talking Alec?” Poppy growled, leaning close to Alec, “nobody wants to listen to you.”  
“Magnus I like you a lot,” Alec blurted out, doing his best to ignore Poppy, “you're really attractive, you're funny, you're sweet, I just, really like you.”  
“I like you too, Alec. I like your smile, your eyes, and I love your voice.”  
“Lies,” Poppy yawned, “God Alec this is boring, I prefer living with your parents.”  
“Thank you,” Alec smiled happily, “that means... So much.”  
“I bet it does.”  
“Alec stop ignoring me,” Poppy leaned so close to Alec, he had to close his eyes for a moment, but then he opened his eyes again and focused on Magnus.  
“Can I call you my boyfriend?”  
“Yes of of course you can.”  
“This is so ridiculous,” Alec felt Poppy's hand strike his shoulder several times, “stop thinking he likes you! He's just playing you!”  
“Can I kiss you?”  
“No!” Poppy screamed in Alec's ear, making him flinch, “no you can't kiss him you stupid asshole, he doesn't like you, nobody does, Izzy doesn't, your mom doesn't, Max doesn't, even I don't like you!”  
“Then leave me alone,” Alec hissed, he turned and glared at Poppy. The red haired girl fell back in her chair with a look of awe across her face, “you don't like me,” Alec shrugged, “leave me alone, because I don't need you, I can think for myself, talk for myself, I can do it now. I have people that care about me, people that want to be around me, I don't need you.”  
A moment of silence passed and Alec watched Poppy stand up from her chair and run away from the table, he turned his attention back to Magnus and gave a smile.  
“I don't think it's permanent,” he whispered, “but I got her to leave.”  
“Perhaps you have to prove your independence to get rid of her.”  
“Maybe.”  
“Do you think you can do it?”  
“I know I can, everything has changed since I've been here, it might have been a couple of days but I guess it's all I needed to see the world differently, to have the confidence I need to get away from Poppy, to live my own life...”  
“To speak.”  
“Exactly, everyone I've met in these past few days has helped me in some way without even trying.”  
“Can I ask you something, Alec?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Why do you suddenly feel comfortable speaking to me?”  
“Like I said, it all changed, everything that has happened in these past days made it... better, and I realised – I can't let myself be isolated because of Poppy,” he shrugged, “I think it's time I tried to... Be more c-confident... Be more independent. This will all work, even if it doesn't get rid of Poppy... I want to start speaking again, I'm ready to.”


	12. Something In The Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of friends find out the outcome of Clary's recent plan.

It had been a few days since Clary had come up with her brilliant media idea, she had managed to sort it out without the help of her friends – well Paris had been on board with her. She hadn't told anybody about the outcome, but she invited a majority of the group over, saying she wanted another group meeting. She had asked them all to settle in the living room whilst she had a quick conversation with Paris.  
“What time is it on again?”  
“It's on in a few minutes,” Clary grinned to Paris.  
“And you haven't told anybody about it?”  
“Nope, have you?”  
“No, not even Tom. Which is saying something because when I say 'I'll tell nobody', Tom is usually the nobody that I tell.”  
“I'm proud of you,” Clary nodded, “I have popcorn, I thought it might fit the mood.”  
“Oh, what flavour?”  
“It's a mix of sweet and salted.”  
“My favourite,” Paris whispered and then ran through to the kitchen, emerging again with the pink bowl full of popcorn.   
Clary approached the group of friends who were sat in an almost-circle formation, some sat on the sofa and some on the floor, she picked up the remote from the coffee table and cleared her throat, “ladies and gentlemen,” she smiled as she looked among the group, “as some of you may know, I had the plan to involve the media with our cause. I know, I know, the media is just as manipulative as my father. I know.”  
“So we have some news for you,” Paris continued as she stood by Clary's side, still holding the bowl of popcorn, “or should we say Dot and Alaric of Brooklyn News Station have some news for you!”  
Clary turned the TV on with a click of a button, just as Dot and Alaric appeared on their screens. They began to talk about the news, they called it the 'sexism scandal of the Institute', Paris and Clary grinned at each other as a quick interview with the two of them appeared on TV. The group were all intensely focusing on the news as it went on, as that section came to a close they ended up in stunned silence. Clary muted the TV – only adding to the silence.  
“Not so manipulative after all,” Clary crossed her arms and threw a look at Simon.  
“How did you get that sorted out?” Chloe leaned forward in her seat.  
“My mom knows a guy,” Clary winked, “she's dating Luke Garroway, the weatherman, and he's in love with our cause, they all are.”  
“We have Brooklyn News Station on our side?” Lydia stood up from her seat as she gasped in shock, “that's awesome.”  
“They told us to inform them about our next protest as soon as we plan it, they're going to join us and possibly report it,” Paris smiled brightly.  
“So, looks like it was a good idea after all, huh?” Clary let out a small giggle, “and on top of those three joining our cause, anyone could find out about it and join us!”  
“I'm sorry for doubting you,” Izzy stood up and rushed over to Clary, “so sorry.”  
“It's okay, without the doubt, I can't prove people wrong. In some ways doubt and criticism is like fuel for me, it makes me work harder,” she shrugged and then leaned forward to kiss Izzy on the cheek.  
“We should totally get Champagne Enema to play for Brooklyn News Station some time,” Simon clapped his hands together.  
“That name is even worse than Rock Solid Panda,” George groaned.  
“Well Izzy hasn't given us a new name yet!”  
“I'm working on it.”

***

Lydia glanced over to Robbie who was sat by himself on the arm of the sofa, George was excitedly talking to Chloe about visiting the zoo, apparently they had a new Meerkat exhibit that George had to see. Tom was talking to Simon, begging him to stop trying to think of names for the band. Alec was with Magnus, actually speaking, that shocked Lydia but she didn't want to think about it too much. She looked back to Robbie and was caught of guard when he was looking over to her, they both quickly looked away before Lydia shook her head and walked over to him.  
“We should be friends,” she looked down at him as he stayed seated, “and being friends means we can't be awkward around each other.”  
“Of course.”  
“We should move on.”  
“Right.”  
“I'm glad you agree, because I've started talking to someone.”  
“Oh, you have?” Robbie pressed his lips together, “that's... awesome. Who is it?”  
“Jace,” Lydia answered easily.  
“You have a type, huh?”  
“What?”  
“Blond guys,” Robbie let out a chuckle as he pointed to his hair, “or is it blond guys with nice eyes?”  
“Blond guys with nice eyes and even nicer personalities.”  
“Aw, thanks.”  
Lydia let out a laugh and then glanced over to Jace who was now stood by Tom and Simon, watching them argue about the band names Simon had thought up.  
“He's a nice guy,” Robbie nodded, “I'm glad it's him.”  
“What about you? Is there anybody you like?”  
“No, I think I'll remain single for a while,” Robbie shrugged easily, “less drama.”  
“Oh, was I too dramatic for you?”  
“No, no not at all, I'm scared whoever I like next will be.”  
“Fair enough,” Lydia nodded, “I'm pretty hard to compare to,” she winked and then sat down on the sofa, next to the arm where Robbie was still sat, “for now, though, we can be single together.”  
“Deal.”

***

“I haven't seen her since the coffee shop incident,” Alec announced proudly to Magnus.  
“That's good.”  
“Well yeah, unless she shows up again – then she'll probably be angrier.”  
“But you're stronger now,” Magnus placed his hand on Alec's shoulder, “so much stronger.”  
“Alec,” Izzy bounced over to the two boys and grinned up at her brother, “I haven't seen you since the other day, Robbie said you've started speaking to more people and I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you, I truly am.”  
“Thanks Iz.”  
“I'm so happy to hear your voice again,” Izzy twirled slightly, “does this mean I'll hear you playing piano again sometime soon?”  
“I always loved playing piano for you.”  
“You play piano?” Simon must have some sort of alarm that went off whenever someone spoke about music, he approached the trio and looked at Alec waiting for an answer.  
“Yeah.”  
“Maybe that's what Champagne Enema is missing,” Simon hummed.  
“Not our name,” George protested from the other side of the room.  
“Izzy can play piano too,” Alec pointed to his sister.  
“Why did you withhold this information?” Simon placed his hands on his hips and glared at Izzy.  
“I've never wanted to be in a band, to be honest,” Izzy shrugged and then turned to Alec, “and I don't think Alec would want to either.”  
“Oh come on.”  
“Face it, nobody wants to be in our shitty band,” Tom joked, it seemed as though everyone had tuned into the conversation now.   
“Soon enough, everyone will want to be in... Simon and the Soundmak-”  
“No!” George yelled, “just stop! One more bad band name and I'm out!”  
“Sorry,” Simon pulled a face and then turned back to Alec, “but, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”  
“Of course.”  
After a moment passed Izzy turned to Alec with a grin, “how do you think mom and dad would react to having two gay children?”  
Alec shrugged and then began to laugh, “mom will probably hate us, but... Who cares?”  
“Good point,” Izzy nodded.


	13. Right At Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to the events that Alec and Izzy have both encountered whilst living in Brooklyn.

Izzy was glad that everything moved faster in Brooklyn, it was two weeks after she had first bumped into Clary and they were already dating. On top of that she had amazing friends, she had her brother with her as well, who had also managed to get into a relationship already. They were seated at the bar where Raphael worked, discussing a new plan of movement for Clary's cause. Izzy expected a speech about the next plan when Paris ran up to the stage and grabbed a microphone from Simon – who was just setting up for the unnamed band's performance. Simon didn't seem phased by Paris as he continued to set up the rest of the stage. Paris cleared her throat into the microphone, grabbing the attention of the crowd of friends.  
“Over the past two weeks we have become great friends with two of the most amazing people in the world.”  
“Definitely not about the cause,” Isabelle whispered to herself as she leaned forward.  
“Izzy and Alec,” Paris grinned and then shrugged, “and we found out that it's somebody's birthday today,” Paris pulled a face and Izzy turned to her brother in realisation – she felt awful, the overwhelming joy of Brooklyn distracted her from remembering her own brother's birthday, “so, a few of us threw together a little... Musical performance for our very special friend, Alec Lightwood.”  
Paris put the microphone onto the stand in front of her as she was joined onstage by Robbie, George, Magnus and Chloe. They stood in an arrow formation, Robbie at the point of the arrow, the two girls either side of him and Magnus and George behind them. Robbie counted them in and they then began an arrangement of Light In The Hallway, the song that Alec called his favourite.  
“Did you tell them?” Alec leaned over to Isabelle with a grin on his face.  
“No... Actually, I didn't... Alec I completely forgot it wa-”  
“I told them,” Jace stood in quickly, knowing that Isabelle was about to confess about her forgetfulness, “I remembered you enjoying it in the car...”  
“Thank you,” Alec whispered to Jace and then focused on the performance. He was even more amazed than he had been when Magnus and Robbie swapped places, Magnus began to sing the lead part. Halfway through the performance he caught sight of Poppy stood by the side of the stage, she was looking at him with a sad expression. He watched her as she turned to the stage, then back to him, all of a sudden she disappeared. She didn't disappear in the usual way however, usually she'd disappear when Alec wasn't looking at her, but he actually saw her fade away and he knew then that he had finally rid himself of Poppy. He had come far in the two weeks of being in Brooklyn, and he had become stronger and now he had rid himself of the nuisance that was Poppy. He didn't even doubt the fact that she had gone for good, because he had never seen her fade out like that, so he knew she was gone forever. It seemed slightly saddening but then he focused on his friends again as the performance came to an end. Once he heard the last note he shot up and rushed across the room to the stage area. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around Magnus.  
“Thank you so much,” he whispered into Magnus' ear, “so much.”  
“I didn't think he'd be so happy about this,” Robbie leaned over to George as he spoke.  
“Poppy's gone,” Alec nodded to the group, “I know she is, she's gone for good.”

***

Izzy looked at her brother with pride, being in Brooklyn had helped him become stronger than he had been. He was smiling and speaking, she was surprised that he could have changed so much in such a short amount of time. She grinned as she watched the group on stage break away from each other. The band continued to set up for their performance.   
Clary fell into the seat next to Izzy and let herself smile as she looked at the girl.  
“You know, I think I'm going to step down from this protest, Paris has agreed to take control.”  
“Why step down? This is what you want to fight for, isn't it?”  
“It is, and it is worth fighting for, but Paris comes up with far better ideas than I do, she and Tom are even setting up a festival event for equality.”  
“That's cute.”  
“The totally unnamed band will probably be performing there too,” Clary nodded over to the band who had all began to have a quick discussion of what they were actually going to perform, “I mean I've come up with a lot for the cause, sure, but I've messed up too. I've been angry in response and fought fire with fire.”  
“We all get angry sometimes. It's just human error, Clary,” Izzy cocked her head to the side and let herself smile as another thought came into her head, at the same time Simon had taken to the microphone.  
“I hope you're all having a great time today, we're going to make your day a little bit better-”  
“Or worse,” George chuckled from behind the drumkit.  
Simon shook his head as he laughed and then continued to speak, “we are,” he looked to Izzy, “well Izzy, what are we? Tell me you have an idea.”  
“How about Human Error?”  
Simon nodded slowly, “that sounds pretty good, we are Human Error!”  
Clary looked to Izzy, her eyes wide with wonder, “that's a really good band name, and totally suitable for those three.”  
Izzy let out a small laugh, “you know Clary, everything is so much better in Brooklyn. It'll be even better once the equality rally becomes more prominent.”  
“Hopefully.”


End file.
